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ALTERNATIVE SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE IN RESPECT OF SPECIFIED OPEN
FIRE CONVERSIONS SUBJECT TO STANDARD GRANT.
Stage 1.
Preliminary Notice to Owner/Owner-occupiers (with copy and
covering letter to Tenants as appropriate) of dwelling houses,
setting out the requirements of the Smoke Control Order, details
of the conditions precedent to the payment of grant, which will
include information about authorised fuels, approved appliances,
etc., etc. The notice will also contain detailed information
regarding the standard grant which can be claimed for each
specified open fire conversion as indicated on the notice; a
grant claim form for use by the applicant after work is completed
will be enclosed with the notice.
N.B- Where an applicant desires NOT to instal an open fire
but an alternative (i.e. gas or electric) he/she will
be instructed on the preliminary notice to apply for
a form of application for Local Authority's approval
of the proposed alternative works, and thereafter the
existing procedure, as laid down in the Clean Air Act,
1956, will be followed.
Stage 2.
Approval of the Local Authority for solid fuel conversions
subject to standard grant will NOT be required.
Stage 3.
NOT required in respect of standard grant conversions, as
the applicant will have already been informed on the preliminary
notice.
Stage 4.
An existing procedure.
Advantages Claimed.
(i) The introduction of a standard grant for certain specified
types of open fire conversions would automatically dispense
with the need for the Local Authority's approval of the proposed
works. This would simplify and greatly reduce the amount of
technical work, correspondence etc. involved, having regard to
the fact that such conversions constitute a large proportion of
the adaptation works required in most Smoke Control Areas;
(ii) The owner/tenant can be given details at the outset of
the works required and of the standard grant which can be
claimed;
(iii) The detailed survey of the area would also be simplified
in that, in the majority of cases, the required works would fall
into a specified category. No further specification would be
required, apart from provisional estimate for gas carcasing,
which would be fixed at a standard rate per foot run.
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